8.03.2009

Finding an Unseen God by Alicia Britt Chole

Everyone who knows me knows I love word games, so the fact that there was a word search on the front of the book and at the beginning of every chapter gave me a good feeling. But they say not to judge a book by its cover, so I did actually read it...

God wakened me to his existence when I firmly believed I was not sleeping.

Finding an Unseen God: Reflections of a Former Atheist by Alicia Britt Chole is a story in many parts. The story is told so well- in images, short chapters, alternating between her history as an atheist and her thoughts since. She describes the ways she's dealt with the hard questions of evil in the world and a newly-found Christian worldview. I appreciated both the passion of her faith and the reasonableness of it. Between stories of her journey through atheism, she explains the intellectual struggle and answers she's found since coming to Christianity. She asks of her new worldview or belief system: Is is consistent? Is it livable? Is it sustainable? Is it transferable?

The book is an engaging read, consisting of short two- or three-page chapters, almost "photographs" of experiences or thoughts, stories of her parents, her life as an atheist, and her Christian friends who never gave up on her and lover her well.

In many ways, it would be a relief to once again chalk atrocities up to the human condition alone; to return to the worldview that would deliver me from wondering where God was and what prayer does. But for me, and other sincere people of faith, the tension remains.Over the years though, I've experiences a glorious discovery: There is treasure in the tension.